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Magura TS8 vs Fox talas 120

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
I've done some reading and have gotten some mixed impressions (not surprising), so I figured I'd ask point blank...

Magura TS8 vs Fox Talas 120.

Both have 32mm stanctions
Both have 120mm travel (though the talas is adjustable down to 90mm)
Both have 15mm TA
TS8 is a bit cheaper (and supposedly lighter and stiffer), Talas is a known commodity and has travel adjustment (not a requirement, but definitely a plus)

The rest of the possible adjustments I don't really care about.

So it really comes down to the ride and the reliability. The fork is going on a steel 29er HT trailbike. I ride rough, technical trails in the northeast. I weight about 170lbs. I'm by no means a finesse rider.

I've had 2 talas in the past and I've been very happy with both, so I have no problem buying another. But trying something/different new is always intriguing.

Thoughts? Anyone have time on both brands and can offer a reasonable comparison?
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,859
24,453
media blackout
every first hand experience i've heard regarding magura forks is that they belong in the trash. i haven't tried one myself for exactly this reason.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,726
5,608
Boooo, I still have an 07 fork and it is by far the best for I've owned. It was fairly crude inside with a neg coil spring was much too light for a fatty like me so the topout was harsh and the LSC was a bit odd. They were my only complaints, it took fast successive hits much better than my Totem and every day I jumped on it it felt the same as the day previous, you only get that with an RS for if you service it every other months, the mag was serviced yearly as per instructions.

All up it probably got three years of hard use and I did one set of wipers and a shaft seal, not bad considering it had a season and a half of DH racing while my Kowa at the time didn't last a round.

If they had a 20mm axle now I'd buy another in a heartbeat, great fork and the US customer service is insane!(if they are still the same distributors).

Also the Totem that replaced the Mag has probably six months of hard riding and it's pretty well ****ed.